A while back, a mom friend invited me to a rally where local parents were peacefully protesting planned cuts to our state’s education budget – cuts that would hurt early childhood education programs like Head Start and 0-5 literacy efforts. I took my children, then aged 5 and 3. We made posters on the grass next to a ragtag group of parents who were also pushing strollers and changing diapers. My 5-year-old colored a sign that said, “Invest in Me,” which he proudly displayed. The programs we were advocating for were not ones our family used. For us, this was a whole-body exercise in showing up for justice, something beyond ourselves.
There are other tangible ways to seek justice and teach children that their voices matter, such as writing letters to government officials.
The alternative is to remain complacent, silent and neutral. It’s tempting to become cynical, to think that nothing we do will make a difference. But we see power and possibility when love and justice intersect. Our love for God and the neighbor compels us to do justice, to work in small ways to change the world. Doing so can also change us.
This message is excerpted from “Let’s put love, justice on the map.” by Lisa A. Smith in the June 2021 Gather magazine. Today is Flag Day. Today we commemorate Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea, 379; Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, c. 385; Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishop of Constantinople, c. 389; and Macrina, teacher, c. 379.
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